I know nothing of Origin, I've selected Steam to be my platform of choice. Which also means that game title exclusives for Origin, will never find their way to my sales page much less library.
..and in that side note, you have made my point. I like a few games that are on Origin, but for the rest there is Steam, but I must have both installed to play both types of games. I also believe UbiSoft has their own one too. If you refuse to play console games for the reason they are on another platform, then that argument about staying away from Origin falls in the same category. It was inevitable that with the success of Steam, there would be competition, which is good, but its more about locking you into one or another platform than it is about the games anymore. All those free games on Steam, well they aren't doing it for you, they are doing it to try sweeten the deal to keep you on Steam, same with Origin and the rest. The same is true with consoles, you have simply chosen one platform. There are games on consoles that appeal to me and I eventually bought the PS3 and a few games (although the prices, as you say, are astronomical). Even now I'm considering an Xbox One, but the saving grace to this is that at least there is a possibility that with Microsoft's new strategy I may be able to buy a game on the pc and play it on the Xbox One all nicely comfortable on my couch if I so chose, and then switch over to the PC if I want to. That would appeal to me, but that is because it is multiplatform and not isolated like Steam is, but I'm still watching to see if Microsoft actually does that.
You go on to say that it is a platform for the PC, but so is Origin. I'm just saying that I know they are a company, just as much as Microsoft is a company that needs to release new Operating Systems to generate an income. Having said that, Steam was only ever popular for one reason, and that was to curb piracy initially. Its become so popular now, that its forced on you whether you want it installed or not. I simply find the whole thing annoying. The games are perfectly capable of running without it, but it is a forced requirement. I can easily go browse an online catalogue of games and purchase one that way, so then why do I need a specialised application to do this? Its just like one of those annoying Apps that comes preinstalled on Windows 8 which you may have one use for, but the rest of it is really not worth your time.
You also go on to say that I contradict myself by saying I understand all this. Perhaps I may understand it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it. Unlike Microsoft and its OS which an important component on any system that actually runs all my games, I don't mind paying for it to get the latest features (every now and then, not all the time), I.e. DX12, Steam is like that unwanted child you never had.